Fender for vehicles



June 17, 1924- 1,497,776

E. FINELLI FENDER FOR VEHICLES original Filed June 17, 1922 s sheets-sheet 1 June 17, 1924.- 1,497,776

. E. FINELLI FENDERVFOR VEHICLES Original Fied June 17, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 i I l 4 im: EHIIIIH mum a. t NVENTQRv i BY ATTORNEYS I June-'17, i924; 1,497,775

E. F|NELL| FENDER FOR VEHICLES original Filed June 17', 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I INVENTO Y BY yy ATTQRNEY QM Patented .lune 17, 1924.

price.

nnnns'ro ,rmELL-r, or NEW vonk, n. Y.

'FENDER .Fon VEHICLES.

Application yfiledluire 17, 1922, Serial No. 568,966. Renewed January 17, 1924.

To aZZ whom t may concern Be it knoivn that I, ERNns'rovFINnLLn a subject of thefKing ofItaly", residingat New York, county and State'of New Yorlghave made a` certain new and-useful Improvement in Fenders 'for Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fenders ifor vehicles, and paticularlyl for automobiles.

The object ofthe invention is to provide a fender'structin-e which issimple, light, durable, easily applied, efficientinoperation, and econoi'nical to manufacture.

Other objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter. l y I The invention consists substantially in the construction, combination,location, and'relative arrangement of parts, all as Will be more fully hereinafter set forth, as shown in the accompanying drawings, and finally pointed out in the appendedclaims.

Referring tothedraiviiigs Y F ig. 1 is a vieiv'in perspective showin'gthc front end of an automobile, and the application theretoof a fenderpstructure embodying the Iprinciples of my inventionl 4 Fig. 2 is atop plan view of the fender struct-ure detached. l y

Fig. 5l is a view in side elevation of the saine. f .y y p Fig. Llis a broken detail view in top plan of the rear end of a side member oftheA fender frame, partsbeing in section, on the line 1, 4, Fig. 3, looking in the direction. of.

the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a 'brokenfdetail View` in on the line 5, 5, Fig. #1, looking inthedirection of the arrows. A

Fig. 6 is a View in section on theline', `6,

Fig. -5, looking 4in the direction ofthe arrows.

Fig is a broken detached detail View in perspective of the 'structure shown in Figs.

1 and 5.

Fig. 8 is a detail view in rear elevationy of one side ofthe fender atttachmentframe.

F ig. 9 isa brokeny detail vvie'iv intop plan of the outer endof one ofthe side members of the fender attachment frame.

Fig. 10.is detail-view :in section on the The saine part is designated by the pense With the use of vthe pivoted fender section same reference numeral Wherever it occurs throughout the `several views.

-Infmy vPatent No. 1,326,487, granted FDecember 30, 1919, I have shown, described and claimed a fender for vehicles, wherein there is employed a fenderffrai'n'e Whichi'spivotally :'inounted 'on the fra-mc of a vehicle, 'aand having means to yieldingly maintain the fender frame at an `upward limit of its ypivotal movement, spring pressedA arms being framc. I also dispense `ivith 'the eXtensible curtains. In place of a fender vframe which iskpivotally mounted u'pon'the vehicleI einploy, in accordance with my invention, ay fender frame having side members, formed of spring material, and curved or reversely bent uponth'emselves at their inner ends for at-v posed upon.A the fender. In lieu of the eX-` tensible curtains, I propose, in accordance withmy present invention, to Vemploy flex? ible connections extending between rthe iside members of thefender frame. By reason of these and other improvements in the fender structure lfor-inning the subjectinatter of rmy present invei'ition, I am lenabled to greatly rejducethe weight 4'and complications of the.` structure andto provide an exceeding-Iy sim? ple, strong, rigid, durable and eilieient fender st'ructnre which is economical to manufacture,'easily appliedto and removed from a. vehicle,y and Whicliaifords protection against injury in case of collision ofthe vehicle 'with aperson, affording a yieldinglplatform upon which apersonstruc'k bythe vehicleinay-be deposited in falling by reason ofthe 'collision impact, the yielding'of the fender ramebeing employed to release the clamp arms at opposite sides of the fender frame and to swing toward each other to grasp and retain the body upon the Afender and prevent the same from being jolted, or otherwise projected, from the fender, thereby avoiding thedanger, and possibility of injury, of the vehicle passing` over the person after such person has been projected upon the fender.

Referring specifically to the drawings: reference Vnumerals 12 designate the side members of the fender frame. rlhese are formed of spring material, such, for instance, as steel, and at their inner ends are curved or reversely bent upon themselves as indicated at 13, see Figs; 3, 5 and 7. The lower portions 13 of the side members afford means for clamping the fender frame lupon the body springs 14 of the vehicle, as

clezirly shown in Fig. 1. The reverse'bends 15 at the rear ends of thel metallic side members 12 afford a desirable resiliency in the frame, permitting it to yield when a body or weight is imposed .upon the fender structure. The forward ends of the side members 12 are bent or curved downwardly and outwardly away from each other, as Vclearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the forward free ends of said members are connected together by a fieXible connection 16, constituting the bumper bar of the fender attachment. This bumper bar may be of any desired structure. In the form shown7 it consists of a coiled wire structure, and extends at its ends,

through sleeves 17 connected to the free ends `of the fender frame side members 12. The

sidemembers 12 of the frame are connected together by suitable flexible connections 18,

`Which, in this instance, are shown in the Yeach of the side members 12 of the fender frame, andeach urged by spring tension in Va direction to rock or swingtoward eachv other. The retainer arms 19 are restrained in retracted position by means of pins 2() on the side members 12, against which the arms 19 abut when the side members 12 are intheir normal position, and the retaining arms 19 are in retracted position, as shown, for instance, in Figs. 3 and 7. By reason of the resiliency of the spring metal side members 12 of theframe, it will be seen, when a weight is imposed Vupon the fender frame, the side members 12 will defiect downwardly, thereby withdrawing` the retaining pins 2O from position to form suitable abutments for the arms 19, thereby releasing said arms, and permitting` the spring tension imposed on said arms to act thereon to swing or move them toward eac-h other and into position to grasp or clamp the body and retain the same upon the fender. The retaining arms 19 are pivotally mounted at their inner ends upon a stud 21 mounted in a clamp block 22 carried by or secured to the side frame members 12. A coil spring 23, surrounding the pivot bolt 21, having one end connected to the clamp block 22, as indicated at 24, and the other end engaging a pin 25 on the arm 19, afford means for imposing the desired tension upon the arms 19, normally tending to project them inwardly toward each other.

Forming part of the fender framework are Vthe vertically disposed frame members 26, one at each side of the frame. These vertically disposed frame members have their lower ends turned outwardly and riveted orV otherwisev suitably secured to the end portion 13 of the frame side members 12, as indicated at 27. The upper ends of the vertical side frame members 26 are curved or bent forwardly, as clearly shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 8, and said vertical side members 26 at opposite sides of the frame are connected together by flexible devices 28, shown in this instance as coil springs. This vertical stationary portion of the fender structure, with its resilient cross connecting devices 18, affords a yielding screen to prevent danger of injury or damage to persons thrown violently onto the fender structure, from coming in contact with a solid non-resistant front end portion of the vehicle body.

If desired, the vertical stationary portions 26 of the fender frame may be braced-to the lower or horizontally disposed side members 12 of the frame, in any .suitable or convenient manner. l have shown brace members 29 for this purpose, said brace members having bent end portions which are riveted, or otherwise suitably connected, as at V30, to the lower portion 13 of the side members 12. At their upper ends the braces 29 arerigidly secured,fas at 31, to the vertically extending side members 26. Y

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I provide an exceedingly simplefender attachment structure which may be applied to or removed from a vehicle very weight or body is imposed upjonvt-he device. y

This yielding spring action not only avoids the danger of injury to the person v vhen .thrown onto the fender structure, but is also utilized in releasing the retaining arms 19 by withdrawing from retaining position the abut-ment stops 20.

The flexible yielding connections 18, 28,

may be secured in any suitable or convenient held within the loop of said stamping byy bolts 34, said stampings being suitably bolted to the side arms 12.

If desired, and in order to rigidly brace the vertically extendingy frame members 26 together7 and hold the same rigidly in place, a rigid cross bar 34 may be suitably secure-d at its ends to the respective side members 26. In this case I prefer to deflect the brace bar 34 back of the plane of the flexible connections 28, as clearly shown inFigs. '2 and 3, to avoid danger of injury by reason of a body striking the cross bar 34. Ifdesired, a similar rigid brace bar 35 may be employed to connect together' the free ends of the side members 12 of the frame.

If desired, the retaining arms 19 may be retained in theirL clamping position after being released and moving toward each other as above described. This may be accomplished in many different ways. I have shown one way of accomplishing the desired result wherein the hubs ofthe arms y19 are provided with ratchet teeth, as indicated at 3G, see Fig. 4, with which cooperate aspring pressed arm or pawl 37 upon the block 22 so that after the retaining arms have swung into their retaining position they are held or retained in that position by the pawl and ratchet devices. In order to reset the arms into retracted position against the tension of the springs 23 the f pawl 37 is released from theratchetteeth 3G, thereby permitting saidy arms to be rocked outwardly or away from each other and into position to engage behind the stop pins 20.

It is to be understood that many variations and changes in the details of structure wouldreadily occur to persons skilled in the art without departure fromthe spirit and scope of my invention. While, therefore, I

pivotallyl mounted have shown and `described a specific struc-` ture as one practical embodiment of ymy invention, I do not desire t-o be limited to the exact details of structure shown and described.

Having now set forth the objects and n ature of my invention, and a construction embodying the principles thereof, what I claim as new and useful and of my own invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,-

1. A safety fender attachment for vehicles, comprising a frame having side members adapted to be detachably connected at one end rigidly to a vehicle, the other ends extending forwardly from the front end of the vehicle, said side members being of spring material toyield vertically under the influence` of pressure or weight imposed thereon, and yielding flexible devices connecting said side members.

2.-A safety fender attachment for vehicles comprising a frame having side members adapted to be detachably connected at one end to a vehicle, the other ends extending freely from the vehicle, said side members being of spring material to yield under the influence of pressure or weight imposed thereon, yielding flexible devices connecting said side members, in combination with retaining arms pivotally mounted upon said side members, said arms being spring pressed to swing toward each other, means for retainingY said arms in retracted position when the fender frame is in` its normal position, and means for releasing said arms when said fender frame is yieldingly depressed.

3. A detachable fender structure for vehicles, comprising a frame having ymetallic side members reversely bent attheir' inner ends, the reversely bent portions of said side members affording means for detachably attaching said frame to a vehicle, and the free ends of said side members being flexibly resilient, and resilient yielding cross members connecting vsaid side `members.

4. A detachable fender structure for vehicles, comprising a frame having metallic side members reversely bent at their inner ends, thereversely bent portions of said side members affording means for detachably attaching said frame to a vehicle, and the free ends of said side members being flexibly resilient, resilient yielding cross members connecting said side members, the combination with spring jnessed retainer arms pivotally mounted upon said side members to loci; or swing inwardly toward each other, and means carried by said frame side membersl for retaining said arms in retracted position, said means being released by the resilient depression of said side members.y

5. In a fender structure for vehicles, a frame having resilient side members, means to support the inner ends of said side memlill) llf bers upon a. vehicle, the free ends of said members extending forwardly and down-V wardly, flexible devices connecting' the side members together and forming aV yieldingV ally connected to said frame side members,

and arranged to'swing inwardly toward each other above said yielding platform, saidV stops operating to hold said retainiiigvarms iii retracted position when said frameiside members are in noi'iiial position'and to release said side arms when said side members are depressed. j

7. In a fender structure for vehicles, a frame having resilient side members, means to support vthe inner ends of said side meinbers upon a vehicle, the free ends of said members extending forwardly Vand downwardly, flexible devices connecting the side members together and forming a yielding platform, and vertically extending frame side members attached at their lower ends to said first mentioned frame side members, the upper ends of said vertical side inemybers being bent forwardly, and flexible devices connecting said vertical frame side members. Y 8. In a fender structure for vehicles, a frame having resilient metallic side members reversely curved or bent at their inner ends, the reversely curved bent ends adapted to be secured to a vehicle, the front free ends of said .side members extending forwardly and downwardly from the vehicle, fiexible devices connecting` the said side members. Y

' 9. In a fender structure for vehicles, Aa frame having horizontally disposed resilient metallic' side members,and vertically disposedside members connected at their lower Y ends to the inner ends of the horizontally disposed side members,.said horizontal side membersV adapted to be detachably connectedat their inner ends, to a vehicle frame, and flexible connections between said hori- Vvzontally disposed side members, and between said vertically disposed side members, respectively.

l0. In ay fender structure for vehicles, a`

frame having horizontally disposed resilient metallic side members, and vertically disposed side members connected attlieir lower ends to the inner ends of the horizontally disposed side members, said horizontal side members adapted to .be detachably connected at their inner ends to a vehicle frame, flexible connections between said horizontally disposed side members, and between said vertically disposed side members, respectively, aiid spring pressed retaining arms pivotally mounted on said horizontal frame side members normally tending to swing transversely thereof, and toward each other, meansA to restrain said retaining members retracted,- the downward yielding movement of'said'resilient horizontal side meinrespecti\"ely,and spring pressed retaining arms pivotally mounted on saidhorizontal frameA side members normally tending to swing transversely thereof, and toward each other, means fto restrain said retaining niembeis retracted, the downward yielding movement Vof said resilient horizontal side members operating to release said restraining means, and means to` hold said retaining arms in retaining positionV when released by the horizontal frame side members.

12. In a fender structure for vehicles,a frame having horizontally disposed resilient metallic side members, and vertically disposed side members connected at their lower ends to the inner ends of the horizontally disposed side members, said horizontal side members adapted to be detachably connected at their inner ends to a vehicle frame, flexible connections betweenl said horizontally disposed side members, and between said vertically disposed side members, respectively, and spring pressed retaining arms pivotallymounted on said horizontal frame side members normally tending toV swing transversely thereof, and toward each other, means to restrain said retaining mem- IGS bers retracted, the downward yielding movef ment of said resilient horizontal side members operating to release said restraining means, and pawl and ratchet devices to holdV said retaining arms in retaining position.

13. Ina fender structure for vehicles, a

iframe having resilient metallic side members, and flexible devices connected at their ends to the holding devices on said respective side members.

14. In a fender structure for vehicles, a frame having resilient metallic side meinbers reversely curved or bent at their inner ends, the reversely curved bent ends adapted to be secured to a vehicle, the front free ends of said side members extending forn Wardly and downwardly from the vehicle, 10 spring clip members respectively connected to said side members, and flexible devices having their respective ends received and secured in said spring clip members.

n testimony whereof I have hereunto set 15 my hand on this 9th day of J une A. D., 1922.

ERNESTO FINELLI. 

